bowel
Americannoun
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bowels
plural
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Anatomy.
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Usually bowels. the intestine.
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a part of the intestine.
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bowels,
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the inward or interior parts.
the bowels of the earth.
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Archaic. feelings of pity or compassion.
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verb (used with object)
noun
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an intestine, esp the large intestine in man
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(plural) innards; entrails
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(plural) the deep or innermost part (esp in the phrase the bowels of the earth )
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archaic (plural) the emotions, esp of pity or sympathy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of bowel
1250–1300; Middle English b ( o ) uel < Old French < Latin botellus little sausage ( bot ( ulus ) sausage + -ellus -elle )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The new STRIDE-RCT trial, external is about detecting bowel, small bowel, stomach, oesophageal, pancreatic, liver, bile duct and gallbladder, ovarian, endometrial, kidney, bladder and prostate cancer.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
Mageean, from Portaferry in County Down, was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in May 2025.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
The research marks an important advance toward personalized treatment for inflammatory bowel disease.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
The company’s third-quarter update offered a peek at clinical-trial results due next year, which include late-stage studies for inflammatory bowel disease ulcerative colitis, hemophilia A and lymphoma.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
Humbaba had the worst case of irritable bowel syndrome known to medical science.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
You will likely encounter it only as a rumor from the deepest bowels of the world’s top intelligence establishments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Eventually John meets his fate by falling through a portal into an abandoned mall, then following signs directing him to a manager’s office hidden in its bowels.
From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026
“For a program that’s been around since 2013, it was shocking that you’d come across its cancellation, effectively, in the corner of the bowels of a subpage of the internet.”
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
It’s making fun of yourself in a way — like some old Victorian actor in the bowels of the theater taking his makeup off and wondering what it all means.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The contraption kicked him when he cranked, spat oil in his face when he looked into its bowels, squealed when he mashed the brakes, and rumbled ominously when he shifted gears.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
He lightly runs to earth the quaint Red worm and, deftly troweling, He makes it with his boweling Familiarly acquaint.
From Black Beetles in Amber by Ambrose Bierce
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
